


Good Luck, My Dear Foe

by meridalocksley



Category: The 100
Genre: F/M, Modern AU, Present Day AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-11
Updated: 2016-05-28
Packaged: 2018-06-07 15:34:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6811246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meridalocksley/pseuds/meridalocksley
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Abigail Griffin, a hard working hospital director, and Marcus Kane, a successful defense attorney with a reputation, both are candidates at the mayoral elections. This could become a breaking point in their already not to so amicable relationship. But does it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was born from a short, random AU I came up with on tumblr, and I was pleasently surprised to get some nice positive feedback for it. I have never written a fic as smoothly as this one, so it became very special to me.
> 
> (Oh, and I of course, had to give a political background to it, to have a plot, but don’t meditate too much above the details, please, because I am not too much into politics and my knowledge about how things work there are limited.)
> 
> I hope you’ll enjoy it! And feel free to leave feedback, I'd appreciate it! :)

   Abby stormed out from the City Hall putting her coat on. She was glad that the meeting was over. She was tired, and the discussions with the people in there just exhausted her even more. _Why do I care so much about this anyway? I didn’t want it in the first place. And maybe I still don’t. I already have a hospital to run, that’s enough for me._

She stopped for a moment in front of the entrance, at the top of the staircase, and looked at the lamplights which were just lit on the streets, giving the buildings from the other side of the river a warm aura. She loved this city.

It has been six months since some of her colleagues and friends convinced her to candidate for the vacancy at the mayor’s office, now that the current mayor planned to retire. She was only minimally involved in politics before and never looked at it as a priority, but in the past couple of years she somehow made her way into the city council and ended up being among the most likely to win. She didn’t think that she was cut out for it, but considering what kind of self-righteous snobs the two most popular candidates were, people started to suggest her to take the chance. And she did.

And now she was suddenly here, feeling like if she doesn’t win this it will be the second biggest failure of her life.

The first one still made her feel bitter and guilty. But as the years passed she locked it away into a deep corner of her soul. She spent many nights, alone, burying her face into her pillow to make sure that her daughter in the other room won’t notice that she is still crying, until she managed to walk with her head up high again. 

 

"Don’t take it to your heart." 

The voice disrupted her from her contemplation and Abby looked up at the man approaching her.

"All of them are just assholes," he continued and stopped near her. "trying to prove that they’re superior.”

Abby found it curious that he at all took the time to stop and apparently comfort her. Less than ten minutes ago he wasn’t far from humiliating her just as much as the others. She gave him a bitter smile. “All of _them_?”

He looked away with a grimace. “You still put me in the same box with them, don’t you?”

“You, with your wit and your methods… you are right there with them, Kane.” she said to him quietly looking in his eyes then moved her gaze on the others, who were shooking hands and getting in their cars.

The two of them were not close, but they've been through enough to allow themselves to not sugarcoat things.

Kane reached into the pocket of his jacket and took out a pack of cigarettes. “Do you want one?” he asked her as he took one out for himself.

“You know that I’ve quit.”

“And I know that you still like to have one when you’re stressed.” he said still holding the pack towards her. “And now you are stressed.” he smiled.

He wasn't a bad-looking man, not at all, Abby had to give this to him. Hadn't he been such a brat she would have maybe even found him attractive.

Now she looked at him puzzled. _Since when does he care?_   She sighed, reluctantly pulled her hand out of her pocket, took one and let him light it for her. “Sometimes I think you know me too well.” she said half-mindedly and blew the smoke out.

"Do I?” he looked at her surprised, raising an eyebrow.

Abby hesitated for a moment. She just stood in the wind and felt a shiver go down her spine. She never thought about it. They never truly had a real personal conversation. Everything between them was either official,  a power play which often flirted with the border between cold formality and diplomatic impertinence, or a random small talk which led to another, just more casual power play. But despite this, he knew pretty much about her. And more importantly, he knew something about her what no one else did. And she wasn’t happy about that. About him being the only person she could have shared her real pain with. Obviously, they didn't talk much about this.  

“No.” she answered briefly. Something changed in her expression for a second, as if she’d regretted her previous statement. She had the feeling that Kane noticed it to, because he didn’t insist on the question. He was annoying, but not intrusive when it came about personal matters. And if for anything, she was thankful for him for that. So he moved his gaze on the cars rolling out from the parking lot.

“You really do think I am no better than them?” he asked.

“You talk like them. You act like them. You play the same dirty games like them.” Abby said blankly and shrugged. “You aren’t.”

“I am just doing what needs to be done. It’s a means to an end. You might not approve of my ways but our goals are the same. While theirs are different.” he looked back at her inquiringly. “I hope you know that.”

Abby turned fully towards him. _There’s no way he is looking for a common ground. There’s no way that I’ll strengthen him in his belief that his intentions are good._

“You are about to ruin the career of a man just to make sure that people will see him in a worse light than you, not vote for him, maybe give their votes to you. What do you think this makes out of you?” she stared at him.

“He’s a douchebag. I am sure if the people knew they wouldn’t want him in the first place.”

“And you think they’d want _you_ instead?” Abby raised her eyebrows.

“I wouldn’t mind their votes going to you either. As long as I can be sure that they won’t be his.” He said as he extinguished his cigarette and left it in the trash can.

Abby looked at him surprised. “So you’re now a fighter for the greater good then?” she asked mockingly.

“Never called myself that way.” he shrugged and zipped his jacket. “But it doesn’t sound bad.” he grinned at her.

“Besides, why do _you_ want to win, Abby?” he looked at her questioningly. "Some voices are whispering that you don’t even want to win, you just want to see us lose.” he frowned with pretended resentment. “What you won’t do for the... _greater good_.” he added mockingly and seemed to enjoy seeing her confidence fade.

Abby bit her lip and swallowed.

“We are not so different.” he said looking back at her as he walked towards the stairs. “I’m just maybe more… _practical_ when it comes about the matter.” he shrugged. “See you on Saturday at Theo’s goodbye party. You’ll be there, won’t you?”

“I’m not sure if I can make it.” Abby answered indifferently.

“Well… then see you on the big day then.” he nodded at her and left in the direction of his car too.

Abby watched him leave with a frown on her face.

 

She has known Marcus Kane for decades, yet now she didn’t feel like knowing him at all. He was the smartass kid she met in law school before she dropped out and went to medicine. She always wanted to make a change but she found out that law has never truly been her thing. Then they ended up bumping into each other because of mutual friends. He seemed straight on obnoxious to her. Unwavering in his views, always self satisfied with a smug grin on his face. At the beginning they didn’t get along at all, there was almost nothing they’ve agreed on whatever it was which it came about. When they both became part of the city council they started to have quite some harsh disputes and clash of opinions to the point where they’ve just sent killer looks towards each other across the room. Then a time came when she did really have her reasons to hate him. But he didn’t seem to care enough to see the bitterness and the grief under her hostility, so he just gave his usual self. However, she was aware that she didn’t blame him more than herself. And as time passed, although their difference in opinions remained, they somehow, probably because of the even worse company in this building, started to behave more decently with each other - almost caring about each other.

And as scary as it seemed to her, Abby had to admit to herself, that lately they also seemed to feel comfortable around each other.

And this, ironically, made her feel uncomfortable.

Because every fibre of her being was against everything what this man represented during their entire acquaintanceship. Not backing off from anything to win a case. Not minding what it means to others. The only thing which indeed stood in his defense was that he chose it well whom he fought for. But the way Abby saw it, his morality ended right there. And first of all, there was also this other thing. Abby swallowed, shook her head to escape the bitter memory which made her feel even more uncomfortable and guilty.

 

She forgot about the cigarette in her hand which was slowly burning down on its own. She extinguished it, threw it in the can and headed towards her bicycle.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I pushed Kane's pre-redemption personality to the extremes in this one, maybe even twisted it a bit, but... sorry not sorry. Feel free to leave feedback, I'd appreciate it! :)

   The restaurant was crowded with people.

Kane stood up from his table to get another drink. He excused himself for disturbing the entire right side of the long table and headed towards the bar.

 _Nothing Will Be Bigger Than Us_ was playing in the background. He would have bet that it was Thelonious' son who was responsible for the music, knowing that the old mayor was into more laid-back music. But Kane didn't mind the more youthful atmosphere.

As he was browsing through the beverages he spotted Abby sitting by a near table. He wasn't expecting to see her there, but he found himself pleasantly surprised to be wrong. She was talking with a young, dark haired woman. Kane knew her by sight, but he couldn't recall her name. Abby met his glance, nodded towards him, but continued to pay attention to the other woman.

Kane poured himself a glass of wine and gazed at the people. They were mostly Thelonius' closer friends, family and some respected colleagues. He knew about three-quarter of them, and would have rather skipped a superficial, double-faced conversation with more than half of those. He loved his job. He didn't consider himself a saint, not by far, but he did believe that, in the long run, he was doing the right thing. He wouldn't have said the same about most of them.

 

"I thought you like the whiskey more." Abby sat down on a bar chair near him. "It's more like you. Raw, firm, and peppery." she added with a mocking grin.

"Abby... I'm glad to see you." he turned towards her with a theatrical smile.

Her eyes were shining and she looked more cheerful than usually. She was wearing a dark red knee-length dress, her hair was in a low bun instead of her usual simple hairdo, but some reckless locks still framed her face. Kane has seen her on parties quite some times already but she always seemed more reserved and they didn't talk much on them. Then again the last time they bumped into each other in an informal environment they were in the phase in their relationship when they could have killed each other with a look. Now they came to the point when it seemed to him that their bickering was more of a habit than real grudge. In a strange way he became intrigued when she started to show this sassy side of her. She was still the same annoyingly virtuous workaholic he spent years fighting with but she was also... more. "I thought you were busy and couldn't come." he said.

"The plans changed." she shrugged. "It would have been a pity to miss out on an ado like this. Our old friend knows how to celebrate himself. Oh, and based on the latest news... this is most likely the last time we talk as equals." she said with a piercing look.

"Hmm..." Kane looked away from her.

"Thanks to you, Pike is clearly out of the game. So it's either you or me." Abby continued now coldly. "I can't believe you've actually done that." she said taking down from her sauciness.

"It flatters me that you had such a high opinion about me for a change." he said, trying to keep his tone neutral, but smiling. "He did that to himself, though." Kane added more seriously. "But do you really want to talk about this now?" he turned towards her.

Abby took a sip from her cocktail which she brought with herself.

"What else could we talk about? All we ever discuss is either this stuff, our work in a nutshell, the new medical law, Theo or your mother's cat.

Kane laughed. The last one came to discussion only once, when he had to babysit the creature for a weekend and Abby noticed a package of cat treat lolling out from his pocket. He started to be sure that she had with at least two drinks more than she probably intended. In any case, she has obviously drank enough to initiate a conversation with him when she could have easily avoided it instead. This for some reason made him smile.

"We don't have to talk." she finally said. "I just wanted to let you know that you are even more of an asshole than I thought."

"Don't tell me that you feel sorry for him. You wanted to see him out of the picture just as much as me."

"But not like this." Abby shook her head. "Enjoy the night, Kane." she gave him a cold smile and stood up.

 

"I had much more up my sleeve." Kane said. "I could have pulled out something what would have meant something much worse to him. Including to his family."

"Should I be impressed that you didn't?" Abby looked at him scornfully.

"I couldn't let him win. Out of all the people, I thought you'd understand that sometimes you have to take more drastic measures if you really believe that something is wrong."

Abby clenched her jaw and her expression darkened.

"You did that too after all." Kane continued, but the moment the words left his lips he regretted it.

"Don't ever-" Abby looked at him coldly, "dare to bring that up as an excuse."

Kane swallowed and turned his head away.

"And don't ever-" she continued, her voice becoming a bit more trembling, "dare to imply that I did that on purpose."

"I know." Kane said shortly gazing in his glass. "I'm sorry, Abby." 

 

There was a short silence between them.

 

"How can you live with yourself?" Abby asked him staring in the nothing. "I barely live with myself."

Her words got Kane by surprise. She never got personal. He wasn't sure whether it was because of the drinks or it was actually Abby letting down her guards. And he didn't like not knowing which was the case.

"I have to." he said quietly.

This was a topic which was constantly hanging above them, but they never brought it up, never wanted to bring it up. After all they've went through it together, they knew all the details, and there was nothing else what could have been added to it. And saying sorry over and over again didn't change the fact that it ended badly.

It was nothing personal. Her husband happened to be in a lawsuit with his client. Kane just won the case. But Abby lost a husband.

Neither of them was directly responsible for Jake's death, but maybe, _maybe_ he doesn't insist on pulling all the strings to make sure that he wins, he'd be still alive. But just as much, if Abby doesn't reveal his husband's secrets being guided by good intentions, they don't end up at the court at all. But he didn't want to put it on Abby just to ease on his conscience. This was on him too.

 He thinked for a moment then looked at her.

 

"You should take a look at the files too. There are some things you should know about."

"Why would I care what else you have up your sleeve, Kane?" Abby asked with a tired smile.

"You might like it." Kane shrugged.

"I don't play that way." Abby said firmly.

"You don't have to. But you deserve to... know. Besides, I live two corners from here, we could be back in twenty minutes."

Abby turned towards him raising an eyebrow, her lips slightly parted. He wasn't sure what she understood from it, but judging from her expression, whatever it was, it had not much to do with documents. And he wasn't wrong.

"If we leave this place at this hour, _together_..." she couldn't help allowing a grin. "people will talk." she looked at him sharply.

Kane drank the remaining wine from his glass.

"Peeople will always talk. You want to see the files or not?" he looked at her.

"If you say that they are so important..." Abby sighed.

"And don't worry about me making any kind of move which they would find interesting enough to talk about." he added on a solemn tone. "I promise. Considering our history, that would be quite ridiculous." he added quietly, telling it more to himself than her.

 

***

 

     Kane's home was a spacious two-room apartament on the 8th floor. Abby has never been there before. He invited her twice for some gatherings, but the first time even if she had wanted to go, couldnt have, and the second time she simply didn't want to go.

His living room was humbly furnished, only with the most essential things in it, those were high quality products though, but there were no unnecesarry additional decorations, even his TV was just a medium sized, older plasma TV.

The only personal thing Abby's eyes stopped on, was a photograph on a bookshelf. It wasn't framed, it wasn't even in plain sight. It was just carefully placed between the most lateral book on the shelf and a small box which kept the row in place. It captured a moment in which two children played in the sand on a seaside. A curly, dark haired boy, around five years old and a cheerful little girl with a big smile on her face, who couldn't have been much older than two years old.

Abby was surprised. She knew that Kane had two children, although he hasn't mentioned them in the past 15 years. He was never married, as far as she knew. The mother of the kids was a foreign woman, a painter, with whom he was in a relationship with for around 5 years. Abby has only met her once, she wasn't very sociable and struggled with the language. From what Abby heard, their relationship ended when she decided to leave the country and go back home. She took the kids with her.

Kane, being a lawyer and basically being... _himself_ , and her a simple artist with no steady income whatsoever, he could have easily won the custody of the kids with a single snap of his fingers. If he wanted to. When Abby heard the news that they broke up and she left with the kids, she saw only two reasons why he didn't fight for them: either because he didn't want them, or because he didn't want to separate them from their mother. Knowing him, and knowing what he was capable of to get what he wants Abby found the first option more likely. But now, looking at that picture, she wasn't so sure about it anymore.

Kane caught her gazing on the picture.

"Trying to make an impression about me based on my surroundings?" he asked.

"I was just-" Abby was about to answer but he interrupted her.

"Here are the files." he handed her over a folder. "I'd ask whether you'd like to have a drink or something, but we've just left a bar counter, I don't think it's appropriate." He said jokingky. "I'll get a glass of water though. Can I bring you something?" he asked her heading towards the kitchen.

"No, thanks." Abby sat down on the couch with the folder. She was curious what he wanted so much to show her, although she didn't get much use out of these things anyway.

 

It was a bunch of numbers. Money. Transactions. Debts. And nothing screamingly more wrong with them than she already knew.

Her vision blurred as she scanned through the second page and the next ones. She wasn't drunk, but the drinks clearly made their effect by slowing down her synapses, and now that the noise and the people disappeared she started to feel her head heavy. _Raven... you will never convince me ever again to try another special cocktail._ She went to the next page, forcing herself to concentrate, although she couldn't really make herself care about the information provided. As she gazed at the paper her vision suddenly cleared. The last couple of pages she was holding in her hands wasn't Pike's anymore. It was Kane's. Moreover, that page alone could undermine his whole effort to sideline Pike, and it would cause him trouble too. It was not the scandal of the century, maybe not even the scandal of the year, but it could have destroyed what he has built. _How could he be so stupid to leave it there?_ _She could slide it into her pocket and leave with it. Or she doesn't even have to, one hint for the right people is enough and the domino falls down._ But this wasn't her. _  
_

"Are you sure you don't want anything?" Kane came back from the kitchen.

'Yeah." Abby gazed up on him. _No, something was off. He is not that stupid._

 "You bastard..." she said slowly after a short silence and got up from the couch.

"Excuse me-" Kane frowned and stopped in the doorstep.

"You knew." Abby interrupted him and she stepped closer to him, seriously invading his personal space as she lifted the papers. "You put this there intentionally."

Kane's gaze went from her to the paper, then back on her. He didn't say anything, he seemed to expect her to continue.

Abby was furious. Furious that he was playing with her, furious that he put her in a situation like this. "Why?" she asked. "You could have just went to a journalist and place it on their lap!"

"No. I couldn't have done that. I do want to get this job."

"You really do believe that I will stay quiet about this?" she swang the papers in her hand. She hated him for thinking she was that weak. She hated him for looking at her so damn calmly. "This in the wrong hands, makes an even bigger scapegoat out of you than what you made out of Pike."

Kane studied her face for a moment.

"Are they in the wrong hands, Abby?" 

Abby gasped. She felt an urge to slap him but she controlled herself.

"No, don't tell me." he continued. Just prove me that you want the job more than me, and it's yours. But to be honest," his gaze was piercing her. "I don't think that you truly find me such a bad option for a leader to break your own code to stop me."

Abby was speechless. Then she laughed bitterly in his face.

"You risk your chance at winning just to test me? Are you that obsessed with wanting to prove that you are right?"

"It's not a test. It's an opportunity. I thought you'd see it as something more well-meaning but apparently I was wrong."

Abby was puzzled. He just gave her the key to win, not how she would have wanted to, though, this was all him, but still. She couldn't be sure that if she leaves this building she won't wake up with a random man of his following her every step. But it didn't make any sense. He wasn't the type to go to such lengths just play games. With her. But he wasn't the type to surrender this easily either. _And for what? To prove her that he's not such an asshole as she thinks?_ "

 

"Abby... if you don't take a step back anytime soon, I don't think I'll know how to understand it." Kane said calmly with a feint smile.

"What?" Abby just realised that she was still standing in front of him, five inches from his face, with the papers between their bodies. She became even more furious with him. "Why don't you just step back yourself if you feel your personal space invaded?" she asked. "And anyway, you said it yourself that there's no way that you'll make a move, so shut up!"

"Indeed," Kane answered. "but I never said that I'll back out if _you_ make one." 

Abby was perplexed. He was giving far too much power to her and he was asking her to make too many decisions at once. It was power she never asked for and a decision she never thought she'll ever have to face and found it even less likely that she'll hesitate about it. Or that's what she kept telling herself. Saying no to Marcus Kane was the easiest thing, but now it somehow didn't come as easily to take a damn step back. He hated herself for wanting the proximty. _It must be Raven's cocktail, nothing more._ She thought and tried to pull herself together. She tossed the papers against his chest "Good luck, Marcus." and she turned her back on him. If he hadn't instinctively grabbed them the files would have ended up scattered on the floor.

Abby rushed to the couch, gripped her coat and her bag and headed towards the door before she'd make more mistakes. However she stopped by the door, she wanted to say something but nothing proper crossed her mind.

"So this was our last chat as _equals_?" he asked her, forming quotation marks with his fingers. "Shouldn't we try to end this era differently, and start fresh? After all, if I can believe you, you just proved that you don't think that I am such an asshole after all."

Abby's hand stopped on the doorhandle, she restrained a smile, and looked back on him. She didn't move and still didn't say anything though.

 

 

Had it been any other woman hesitating that much to leave his apartament, Kane would have probably convinced her already to stay. But this was Abby.

They had too much of a past for him to act like that, and he didn't drink enough to not care about it. Besides, he wasn't sure how much she drank, and he really didn't want the alcohol to make the decision instead of her. Which was curious, becuase he generally didn't think too much about this aspect. But now suddenly even the thought of any other woman on his doorstep felt strangely out of place.

Abby straightened up, slowly stepped back near him, still holding her stuff in one hand, she placed the other one on his shoulder and kissed him softly on his cheek.

Before he could have reacted in any way, she drew away.

"What was that?" Kane frowned. It was obvious to him what it was, but he didn't expect it. He was half delighted that she actually did that and half disappointed that she did _only_ that.

"Call it a more decent way to wish good luck than my previous one." she shrugged. "For the fresh start." she added playfully as she moved back towards the door.

"Are you sure you don't want to go back to the party?" Kane asked her.

"Yeah. It's too late already anyway." Abby answred.

"And are you sure that you neither want to... stay?" he heard himself asking.

Abby smiled. Kane didn't see the confusion and reluctance in her expression anymore. Whatever fight she was having with herself, she must have resolved it. But he didn't know what conclusion she got to.

"People would talk." she said briefly.

"As I already said, people will always talk. I was asking about you."

"Good night, Marcus." Abby smiled at him, pushed down the doorhandle, stepped out and closed the door behind herself.

 

***

 


	3. Chapter 3

_I'm an idiot._

Abby pressed the button to call the elevator and waited impatiently in front of it.

 

Had she hesitated one second longer in the door of his apartament, she wouldn’t have had the self-control to leave. _Why was I so determined to leave, anyway?_ First she masked her confusion as anger, which was also there, somewhere, but not alone. The other feeling was new, in this magnitude at least. She barely managed to pull herself together in the last minute.

She has already found herself attracted to this smug bastard at times, but she didn’t give more attention to it than the effect any random good looking man can have on a woman. However, there weren’t that many random good looking men around her who had the effect Marcus Kane lately had on her for this theory to be viable. She stuck to it nonetheless. _Because the two of them in this context seemed ridiculous and inappropriate and wrong and..._

Trying to come up with more attributes to convince herself that she didn’t want to stay, Abby slid her hand in her pocket, and realised that it was empty. She remembered putting her keys there. They must have fallen out when she grabbed her coat in a hurry.

 _No problem, Clarke is at home, probably still working on her project._ She can just call Marcus tomorrow and ask him to bring them to the main square before work. That seemed a reasonable solution. _Or I could just turn around, knock on his door, and get it over with._ She wanted to shove the idea away, but it started to become more and more obvious to her that the time when she could easily ignore these thoughts was over.

 

The elevator arrived. _I’ll call him tomorrow._

She was about to step into the cabin when she heard the sound of a door being opened.

“Abby, wait!” Kane stepped out to the corridor. “You forgot these.”

Abby bit her lip. She cursed the damn keys. She cursed herself for being that careless. She cursed him for being that... _kind_ to come after her. One allusion and all her effort to pull herself together will go to waste. She turned around.

“Oh... I should really start to keep them in my bag, I’ll lose them one day... Thanks.” she said with a nervous smile.

She took the keys when he approached her, careful for their hands not to touch and turned back to step into the cabin.

_I am indeed an idiot._

 

"Look…" Kane spoke up, "I didn’t mean to make things complicated when I asked you whether you would like to stay, it was just… a weird evening, and you acted differently, and I thought-”

The elevator made a sound, and its doors closed, someone must have called it. _Great..._ Abby thought. _I could take the stairs. But that would make it ridiculiously obvious that I want to get away from here..._

She didn’t want to take the stairs. So she turned her back on the elevator and looked at him again.

“You thought that you might as well live with the opportunity.” she lightly finished the sentence for him instead walking back in his direction.

Kane frowned. “Yeah… you can put it like that too, I guess..."

 

There was a moment of silence between them. Meanwhile Abby put her keys in her bag to ease the tension it created, but fortunately Kane broke the silence.

 

“We can just forget about it. We meet the next time on a council meeting, we rip each other to pieces, figuratively of course, and it’s the same old story.“ she shrugged. "If that’s what you want.” he added searching for her glance.

It was not what she wanted. And neither did she think that this was possible at this point. But she remained silent.

 

Making the first step wouldn’t have normally been such a problem for her, but she hated him for actually putting her in the position to make it. Again. Almost like making her prove that he is right. And it would just pamper his smug ego. The kind of treat she didn’t want to flood him with.

She wasn’t sure when the wall between them started to break down, but it certainly wasn’t there anymore. Even though they kept the facade up, underneath it they were much more open, much more relaxed, and he seemed more… _likeable._

And now she has just kicked the last brick out of the way.

She could put it back though, in case she’d want to…

 

“Or…” Kane continued slowly taking a step closer to her. Abby looked up at him and tilted her head, waiting for him to come up with the obvious. Her eyes probably spoke for her, telling that whatever this second option is, she’ll most likely find it more appealing.

The part of her which would have left without her keys lost the moment Kane stepped out on the corridor. And not even the biggest reason she used to come up with for why this should never happen was strong enough anymore.

“In case that’s not what you want” he continued quietly, “then I want you to know that I meant it.”

Abby raised an eyebrow.

“I mean,” he continued, “the hell knows why, but I think that we could maybe try and… have dinner sometime? Maybe we’ll agree that Wells' five star restaurant is indeed a bit overrated." he shrugged.

Abby laughed.

“Leave the poor kid alone..."

"That was not the point of the sentence." Kane said curtly.

"Dinner? Seriously?" Abby asked mockngly. "What on earth could we suddenly do at a dinner, Marcus?”

Now it was Kane's turn to raise an eyebrow.

“Eat? Talk?" he shrugged with an innocent look on his face. "And I haven't wished you good luck yet, so..."

Abby still looked at him questioningly.

“I’m just trying to be a gentlemen, Abby.” he said warmly.

“I appreciate that.” she answered briefly with an official smile.

"So... is that a yes?" Kane asked.

Abby studied his face for a moment.

“No.” she shook her head. “Not exactly.” she specified smiling and taking another step closer to him.

The confusion mixed with surprise on his face, and the instinctive and then hesitating motion of his hands towards her arms was both flattering and frightening.

Because the man she knew was always sure about each step he took. He wasn't always right and neither did he always win, but he never let anything out of control, on the hands of chance, when he wanted to achieve something. And if he didn't want it, he didn't bother at all. May it had come about clients, opponents, the competition or women. And she was almost all of those at once.

And now he has woven his net around her far too loosely. But he was weaving it. And Marcus Kane not using every trick of his to win could mean only one thing. That it was not just about winning. _He cared._

 

Abby swallowed.

"I don't want this to-" Kane started.

“For heaven’s sake…” Abby sighed interrupting him. She gripped his collar and closed the remaining small distance between them.

His lips curled into a surprised smirk, as he looked down at her and a spark appeared in his eyes as he was about to say something but Abby continued.

“Don’t get me wrong, I truly do appreciate it that you want to be more… decent.” she assured him moving her glance from his eyes to his lips. “But I’ve known you for decades...” her voice was husky, she felt his touch on her back, which made her shiver. It also made her bolder. “...you never really bothered about being a gentleman…” Her lips were now dangerously close to his as she spoke. She hovered there for a moment, but then she moved along his jawline, towards his ear. “You really don’t have to start doing so today.” she whispered, her lips faintly touching his earlobe before she lazily moved back looking for his lips.

 

But he was quicker. They met almost halfway, and in the next moment she felt his lips on hers and his hold on her became tighter, his hands running up her spine as he pushed her against the wall near his door. She could still taste the wine on his lips. It made her think how much he has drunk. But it didn't matter. It didn't make much of a difference after all. There was nothing they could have jeopardized with this. No real friendship which would be broken, no truly important colleagial connection which could be influenced. They would be okay anyway. Knowing Kane they could go on with their lives as if nothing had happened. She wasn't sure how she'd feel about that though. That wasn't her lifestyle.

"Good." Kane said quietly pulling away from the kiss for a moment. "I think there's plenty of restained tension between us, even without a first date." he grinned.

 _Stop overthinking!_ Abby told herself. "Tell me about it." she ran her fingers through his hair and reclaimed his lips. 

Being this close to him was new, but it somehow also felt surprisingly natural, and when he slightly pulled away again, slipping his hand down on her arm but holding on to her hand, gently but firmly drawing her with him as he took a step in the direction of his open door, she let him.

 

 

When they stepped over the treshold and their lips met again, this time more fiercely, more unpatiently, her bag landing down on the floor, and her coat, thanks to Marcus, on a desk a _What the hell am I doing?_ crossed her mind again, but she didn't give much attention to the thought.

She spent too much time punishing herself. She spent too much time punishing him.

And she knew what she was doing. She knew what she wanted. Maybe she knew it the moment they left the restaurant. And maybe she knew it already when she cancelled a discourse at the university to attend Theo's farewell party.

 

The sheets on his bed felt soft and silky under her skin. Abby slowly ran her fingers down Marcus' chest while he placed kisses down her neck.

"You seem lost in thought." he looked at her frowning, being concerned. "Are you still sure you-"

Abby pushed him slightly away, but just to roll themselves over, so that it was now her looking down on him, her long hair tickling his face.

"Will you question my decision every five minutes, Marcus?" she asked.

"If it brings the control freak out of you I might." he smirked. "Had I known earlier that the challenge to prove me wrong turns you on, I would have been more unwavering. It's still not too late..."

"I am not a control freak..." Abby said locking her lips with his. Fortunately this also made him shut up.

 

But he was right. It took her a long time to admit it to herself, but he was not just a random good looking man who had an effect on her. And when that finally started to occur to her she added it to the other reasons she could hate him for.

She loved hating him. She thought that it was easier that way.

She thought that it was better that way.

 

But now, feeling his breath on her skin, and his touch on her waist, with nothing else between them than years' worth of unsaid words and the shadow of the spoken ones hanging above them as silent reminders of how far they have come - but without the power to wake up any kind of uncertainty in her anymore, on the contrary, somehow making her feel like they are, finally, _okay_ \- and still wanting to be closer, Abby had to realise that she was wrong. 

 

She pulled away from the kiss to look at him.

 

_Not hating him was so much easier..._

 

"So, in what aspect do you wish to prove me wrong?" Kane asked insolently.

"You can't stop being a jerk, can you?" Abby asked wearily. "Can't we just look for something we both agree on, for a change?" she suggested instead playfully.

"Well... if we seek long enough we might find something." he shrugged locking his fingers with hers.

Abby laughed, and he sat up placing a quick kiss above her chestbone, before he rolled over with her again, their still clasped hands landing at each side of her head.  


 

_...Not hating him was so much better._

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

The warmth of Abby’s body near him, her limbs just softly touching his as she laid on her stomach in the bed, cuddling one of his pillows under her head, made Kane smile.

He pushed away a reckless lock of hair from her face as he turned on his side to face her.

 

He wasn’t sure where they stood right now. A lot has changed, but in the same time they were still the same people.  
They even managed to get into a small word-fight while trying to get rid of each-others clothes. _Is this really what their fights have been about? A foreplay?_ This thought made him smile too.

 

Abby opened her eyes when she felt his touch.

“I hope you are not… hiding, sunshine.” he said softly.

Abby turned on her side too to look at him. “Don’t you dare calling me on nicknames like this, Kane.” she said resolutely. The sound of his surname, coming from her now, felt very out of place. “Besides, it’s 2 a.m. So if I’m the sunshine then I should obviously be hiding.” she added sleepily as she laid her head back on the pillow.

“Oh, hi! I almost started to miss you.” he grinned. “I don’t know who that woman who was pleased with my every move a while ago was.”

“Shut up.” she tried to hide her smile. She didn’t put too much effort in it though, because she kept the eye contact and crossed one of her legs with his as she changed her position.

 _She is not hiding._ Kane was relieved to realize it. He was glad that she didn’t seem to have the intention to get up and leave telling him that it was a mistake or just a one time thing which shouldn’t happen again. It has been a long time since he last was hoping for this _not_ to be the case. And the one acting like that was more often him anyway.

 

He placed a slow kiss on her lips, running his thumb up and down her cheekbone.

 

It would be totally imaginable though, for them to just act as their usual selves once the sun rises and the door of this room closes behind them. They could still end up in bed again when the day is over. But he didn’t want that. He did want her in his bed, or in any bed, of course, but he also wanted to have breakfast with her. He wanted to pick her up after work, he wanted to ask for her opinion, he wanted to just hold her and try to make up for the invisible wounds he, some of them unintentionally, some of them less so, but inflicted on her through the years.

This was the woman she spent years fighting with, the woman who seemed to detest him, and the woman who got on his nerves with her stubborness and her morals, almost being his embodied conscience at times.  


As the time passed he found himself looking for her company. He noticed that whenever she was in a bad mood she buried herself in her work. When she was stressed, nervous or conflicted she kept playing with her hairpin or had a smoke, although she quit being a regular smoker a long time ago. He found the wrinkles which appeared in the corner of her eyes when she smiled beautiful. And he started to get weary of seeing them disappear in his direct presence. He even enjoyed their arguments in a way. Except for a couple of times when it came about serious matters, it was more like a habit. She was smart, she was bold, she was good-hearted. And just as damaged as him. And they both knew. They just didn’t want others to see it. And that also included them. And despite their differences, and despite the fact that they neglected it, this has been a bond between them during the years.

 

"Do you mind if I have a smoke?” he asked running his fingers through her hair.

“Since when do you ask for my permission to do anything?” Abby laughed blinking at him.

Kane sat up on the bed to put on his clothes. "You left a mark on me."

"One?" Abby asked raising her eyebrows.

Kane smiled to himself as he buttoned his shirt.

When he saw Abby reaching out for her dress, he stepped to the wardrobe.

"You can put this on. It's more comfortable." he handed her a light blue shirt of his. "Or would you like a T-shirt?"

Abby hesitated.

"I think I should go...." her voice revealed some uncertainty.

"No, you shuldn't." Kane said soothingly.

"Clarke will wonder where I was all night. I don't often stay out..."

"The party wasn't bad. I bet they'll be drinking till the dawn." Kane shrugged.

"Wells knows that I left early... and he and Clarke discuss everything." Abby sighed but took the shirt from him. It was long enough to look like a short dress on her. A really short one, though. It was not very Abby-ish, but she didn't seem to feel uncomfortable in it at all. Kane liked it. "I could tell her that there was an emergency-'' Abby was contemplating the other options.

"Or you could tell her that you were here." Kane said lightly as he opened the balcony door and lit his cigarette. The night was warm, but not muggy, and there was a fresh cool breeze in the air.

Abby stopped fixing her curls and looked at him without a word. Kane focused on the view as he blew out the smoke. He knew that Abby was not the sleeping around type. And she knew that he was. Kind of... occasonally... So this was a step he had to make, he couldn't expect her to make it.

"She's a grown-up, she'd understand. Otherwise you'll have to tell her that for some reason you decided to make night shifts again or that you are working overtime or something." Kane turned towards her.

"Night shifts? Working overtime?" she asked gazing at him with a piercing look, slightly puzzled. She joined him on the balcony.

"Coming up with both as an alibi would be suspicios, but knowing you... believable." Kane shrugged coolly, but smiling at her.

Abby licked her lip. "You think that would work?"

"What? Lying to Clarke? No. She's smarter than that." he answered. 

Abby shook her head smiling and combed her hair back with her fingers.

"Do you want a cigarette, Abby?" he asked looking at her before she could have said anything, without actually offering her any.

Abby let out a quiet laugh. He knew that she understood him.

"No. I am not nervous, Marcus." she said calmly.

"Okay then." Kane put an arm around her, pulling her closer to himself. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"We are so messed up." Abby said quietly looking at the lights of the city, which as dozens of fireflies flickered underneath them.

"We'll be okay." he said placing a kiss on her forehead.

 

"May I take a shower?" Abby asked after a while.

 

* * *

 

Kane's bathroom was roomy. It took some time until Abby managed to adjust the water pressure. She has just stepped into the shower cabin when Marcus knocked on the door and put down a towel on a small cupboard.

"Are you sure you don't want anything else?" he asked, leaning his shoulder leisurely againsts the casing of the door.

Abby let the water flow through her hair.

 _The cabin is spacious too..._ she thought. _  
_

"You are cooling the air." she turned her head towards him. "Close the door, please. But-" she quickly continued, stressing the last word, smiling. "-come in first! ... If you want to." she added, not that there was any doubt about what either of them wanted.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave feedback, I'd appreaciate it. ^^


End file.
